Your insider guide to Southeast Asia asiaunmasked.com Around The Region Bangkok in May has a quieter quality to it. The crowds have thinned, the streets feel like they belong to the city again, and the afternoon downpours have become part of the daily rhythm. It is, for those of us who live here, one of
Your insider guide to Southeast Asia asiaunmasked.com Your Week in Southeast Asia This week, in what is possibly the region’s most progressive country, Vietnam’s northern highlands, the world’s largest bamboo resort has just opened inside a national heritage landscape – offering us a reminder that luxury and environmental responsibility don’t need to pull in opposite
The Philippines’ most biodiverse island province is one of Southeast Asia’s great travel experiences – here is everything you need to make the most of it The bangka rounds a limestone cliff, the engine cuts, and a hidden lagoon opens up ahead. The water is so clear you can see the reef fifteen metres below
Issue No. 6 | Thursday 30 April 2026 Your insider guide to Southeast Asia asiaunmasked.com Your Week in Southeast Asia This week we’ve covered developments across the region, including a resort on Palawan Island that has received a full eco-luxury make-over, which bodes well for the future of The Philippines – a country that has
Scientists in Phuket are banking frozen coral genetics against the day the reefs can be rebuilt. The question is whether Thailand’s tourism industry will give them that chance. Thailand’s reefs have endured repeated mass bleaching events since 2022 – the cryobank is banking the genetics needed to rebuild them. In a quiet laboratory at Phuket
Issue No. 4 | Thursday 16 April 2026 | asiaunmasked.com Your insider guide to Southeast Asia Vietnam’s national tourism masterplan places eco-tourism and community-based experiences at its core. Demand at the country’s largest travel fair this month confirmed that visitors are catching up. Your Week in Southeast Asia This week, Southeast Asia made several decisions
Real-time data, AI-powered itineraries, and sustainability tracking—Vietnam’s new platform could reshape how the entire region manages tourism growth Visit Vietnam’s real-time data dashboard allows authorities to monitor destination capacity and manage visitor flows across the country Vietnam officially launched Visit Vietnam on 20 December 2025—a national tourism data platform designed to manage the country’s booming
How Laos is positioning itself as a global leader in sustainable tourism—and how tourists can support the journey White minivans and tour buses collect Chinese tourists from the railway station in Luang Prabang and escort them for their entire time in Laos, highlighting how the infrastructure of zero-dollar tourism operations. The trains from Kunming arrive
UNESCO World Heritage status alone cannot protect Luang Prabang from overtourism and Chinese tourism expansion. What the city actually needs—and what Laos is beginning to build—is strategic tourism management that prioritises local benefit and cultural preservation. Luang Prabang sits on the Mekong River surrounded by lush vegetation encased by a picturesque mountainous landscape which is
Beyond the well-worn tourist paths lies a landscape where genuine cultural encounters remain possible—if you know how to engage respectfully The forest canopy closes in around you as your guide stops to point out fresh elephant tracks in the mud. You’re trekking through territory where the Akha, Lisu, Hmong, and Khamu peoples have lived for
